Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club
Amateur course Okotoks Oct 2018
Sep 19th
Upcoming Ham Radio Course
Ham radio course signup 2018 open this PDF document. It contains all of the course information. Fill in the form and email it to us.
Amateur (Ham) Radio basic course
Have you ever wanted to learn about Ham Radio? Come and join our course from October 25 to November 18 2018 in Okotoks, Alberta.
About Ham Radio
Come and learn all about Amateur Radio and prepare for the Basic level examination. Amateur Radio (ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It’s fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need.
Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the Industry Canada license to operate on radio frequencies known as the “Amateur Bands.” These bands are radio frequencies allocated by Industry Canada for use by ham radio operators.
Getting started
If you wish to get started ahead of the course, review the links below. To help get you started, download the Industry Canada Question Bank. The question bank has every question (and answer) that is on the Basic and Advanced test. You can take practice exams on the Internet using the actual questions from the exam bank and measure your progress.
While the exam generator will help you memorize the correct answers it doesn’t teach you the theory behind the question. Come to this class and learn why ham radio works as it does, equipping you with the skills you need in the field to fully benefit from your involvement in this hobby, plus you’ll get instruction on how to operate properly.
Course dates: October 25 1900-2130h, November 3-4 and November 17-18 0900-1730h
Place: Okotoks Firehall #1, 132 Milligan Drive, Okotoks AB T1S1W2
Exam: Basic Qualification exam included, taken on the final day
Cost: $85, includes one examination attempt. Textbook required, available at GPS Central for about $50
Note: Payment must be received in full by October 15 2018 to confirm your seat. Attendance is limited.
About your instructors
Dann St-Pierre VE6TD licensed in March of 2002 and holds his Basic and Advanced level qualifications in Canada, and earned his US Extra class privilege in December 2009 and holds call sign KU7R. He is the Communications Director for the Foothills Amateur Radio Society and plays a key role in the design and maintenance of the FARS’ repeater network that covers 50,000 square kilometers of Southern Alberta.
Vince d’Eon VE6LK licensed in March of 2002 and holds his Basic, Advanced and 5wpm Morse code qualifications. He earned his US Extra class privilege in October 2014 and holds call sign AI7LK. He is the Secretary of the Foothills Amateur Radio Society and was the lead Ham Radio operator during the High River floods of 2013, Canada’s Worst Natural Disaster. He participates in many Car Rallies and other events around Western Canada as a radio coordinator or operator.
Getting Started Resources – get a jump-start on the course with these items:
Purchase: Canadian Amateur Radio Basic Qualification Study Guide – 9th Edition, 2nd printing, 2016
https://www.coaxpublications.ca/ord0001.php or available at GPS Central in Calgary
Review: Radio Amateurs of Canada http://wp.rac.ca/category/uncategorized/begin/
Review: Radio Information Circular RIC-3 http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf01008.html
Review: Regulation by Reference RBR-4 http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf01226.html
Review: Available Call Sign Lookup https://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/pls/apc_anon/query_avail_cs$.startup
Review: Exam Generator and Question Bank http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/025.nsf/eng/h_00040.html
SABRE-27 High Altitude Balloon
Sep 17th
Hi
Unfortunately we’ve had to postpone the flight due to terrible weather. (near freezing, 40km winds and a mix of snow and rain).
I’ll re-send an announcement when we have it rescheduled.
Thanks
Bruce
Hi Bob
The Saskatoon Amateur Radio Club is planning on flying a VHF voice repeater on our next flight on September 22. Please pass this on to anyone you think will be interested.
SABRE-27 High Altitude Balloon is scheduled to be launched on Saturday, September 22 at 15:00 UTC (Weather Permitting)
Some of the particulars are:
SABRE-27 High Altitude Balloon Amateur Radio Payloads
2 meter, 1 watt Simplex Repeater (a Store and Forward or Parrot Repeater)
Repeater Simplex Frequency 147.540MHz (Up-link and Down-link)
Repeater ID: VE5AA
Two – APRS Trackers sending information on Altitude, Latitude, Longitude
VE5AA-11 500 MW beacon every minute also with Telemetry of Temperature and Battery Voltage
VE5AA-12 500 mW beacon every minute, timed to interleave with VE5AA-11 beacons
A 10 mW CW beacon on 433.9 (+- as it will drift with temperature)
People can view the location of SABRE-27 by searching for the APRS tracker ID’s on aprs.fi
or use link https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%
The payloads will ascend with the balloon and descend with a parachute, total time 3 to 4 hours
Anticipated height is at least 90,000 feet (18miles) variable
Of particular interest to many Radio Amateur may be the 2m Simplex Repeater operating at a height of 18 miles above earth, that should provide a fairly wide coverage, possible west to BC, east to Ontario, and south to the northern States. Range of the extended repeater coverage will vary depending on height of repeater at various times but may be usable for approximately 3 hours.
We encourage all Radio Amateurs regardless of their location or type of equipment, to take participate, and take advantage of this opportunity to get some DX? through a 2meter qrp repeater up in the sky.
Lets see what kind of radio coverage we can get.
Thanks
Bruce – VE5BNC
Amateur Radio Course Calgary
Sep 17th
Basic Amateur Radio Class set to begin Monday, September 17th.
There are still several spots available for anyone you may know who is interested in taking the basic class that we offer.
If you know someone who may be interested in taking a Basic Amateur Radio Class, please direct them to our on-line registration and our upcoming course. Information can be found at this link: http://www.caraham.org/event-3046898
Report on CAARC 2018 Field Day
Jul 18th
Well, ARRL Field Day is over for another year. Some Central Alberta amateurs operated this event from the Red Deer County EOC Amateur Radio Station. I would like to thank CAARC for encouraging me in this venture. I also thank Rod, VE6XY, and Stephen, VA6SGL, for trying to keep me grounded. And a special thank you to Brian for helping me understand the radios and correcting the aim of the HF beam antenna and for serving as Safety Officer. Ric Henderson, now Assistant County Manager of Red Deer County, found a way to let it happen. Ryan Mysko of Red Deer County served as the Red Deer County EOC member of our planning team. And a big Thank You to him for being patient with the preparations and testing and facilitating our access to the county’s radio station.
The buck stops with me for this event. Please tell me what could have been organized better.
Although we did not make a lot of contacts, several Central Alberta hams are now more familiar with the radios at the county station. We managed to make contacts with Connecticut, Alaska and Hawaii, among other places, as well as Alberta. Someone responded to our digital CQ but we were not set up to be quick enough on the reply. I also sent a CW QRL on what appeared to be a clear code frequency, someone answered, unfortunately, I was not confident enough to follow up. So we had no digital or CW contacts although we did make our presence known in both modes for a very little while on each. We will be better prepared next time.
The CAT connection between the logging program and the Kenwood TS-480HX had failed approximately one hour into Field Day. We now have to investigate the cause and figure out the resolution of this problem. This did not stop us from making contacts but provided a potential for our logging the contact in the wrong band.
I did try to send a formal NTS format message on its way to the Alberta Section manager. Maybe I started too late, about 11:15 Sunday. Using my truck mounted mobile, I asked if anyone would accept a formal message for forwarding on repeater VE6REP at least once, but I did not hear anyone accept. I did ask a couple of more times.
We did not try WinLInk because I could not make it work in pre-Field Day Trials. Winlink is not needed by itself for Field Day but it facilitates messaging which can be used to earn more points. More investigation and preparation are needed for this before the next Field Day.
Unfortunately, in all the confusion, we did not get any photographs or videos.
Ryan says that he is quite enthusiastic for this exercise to happen again. He was impressed by the way the radios had been tested and problems corrected. He is also planning to create a write-up for the Red Deer County newspaper.
Thank you to all who participated:
Ryan, “VE62B”
Rod, VE6XY
Stephen, VA6SGL
Brian, VE6CKC
Mike, VE6MIM
Sylvia, VE6SYL
Maria, VA6TFL
Darcy, VE6DWG
Helge, VE6HNO
Andre, VA6ARJ
Emily St-Hilaire
and thanks also to the local amateurs who responded on 146.490 MHz.
Here is a copy of the summary file created by our N3FJP ARRL Field Day Log. This was part of the submission to the ARRL. Note that although the stated number of simultaneous transmitters is 1, the rules allow one free VHF station to also operate.
ARRL Field Day
1. Field Day Call Used: VA6RDC GOTA Station Call:
2. Club or Group Name: Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club
3. Number of Participants: 13
4. Number of transmitters in simultaneous operation: 1
5. Entry Class: Check only one.
__A. Club or non-club portable
__B. 1 or 2 person non-club group portable
_____List calls of operators:
__C. Mobile
__D. Home station commercial power
__E. Home station emergency power
X F. Emergency Operations Center
6. Check All power sources used.
__Generator
X Commercial mains
__Battery
__Solar
__Other (list)
7. ARRL / RAC Section: AB
8. Total CW QSOs: 0 X 2 = Total CW QSO points: 0
9. Total Digital QSOs: 0 X 2 = Total Digital QSO points: 0
10. Total Phone QSOs: 23 X 1 = Total Phone QSO points: 23
11. Total QSO points: 23
12. Power Multiplier (select only one)
__5 Watts or less and Battery powered = 5
X 150 Watts or less = 2
__Over 150 Watts = 1
13. Power Multiplier: 2
14. Claimed Score: 46
15. Bonus points claimed: Please check each block as appropriate and
include required proof of points with your submission. All bonus points
will be verified at ARRL HQ and added to your score.
__100% Emergency power
X Media Publicity
__Set-up in Public Place
__Information Booth
__NTS message to ARRL SM/SEC
X W1AW Field Day Message
__Formal NTS messages handled (# 0)
__Satellite QSO completed
__Natural Power QSOs Completed
__Site Visited by invited elected official
__Site Visited by invited served agency official
__Educational Activity Bonus
__Youth Element achieved (# 0)
__GOTA Bonus (total bonus points: 0)
__Submitted using the b4h.net applet
__Social Media
__Safety Officer
Total Bonus Points Claimed: 200
16. I/We have observed all competition rules as well as all regulations for amateur radio in my/our country. My/our report is correct and true to the best of my/our knowledge. I/We agree to be bound by the decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee.
Date: 06/26/2018
Call: VA6RDC
Signature: John Allen
Address: c/o Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club
Address: P.O. Box 1103
Address: Red Deer, Alberta T4N 6S5
Address: CANADA
E-Mail Address: …snipped/sja…
Operating Period: 2018/06/23 18:40 – 2018/06/24 16:05
Total Contacts by Band and Mode:
Band CW Power Dig Power Phone Power Total %
—- — —– —– —– —– —– —– —
40 0 150 0 150 7 150 7 30
20 0 150 0 150 12 150 12 52
2 0 150 0 150 4 150 4 17
GOTA 0 150 0 150 0 150 0 0
— —– —– —– —– —– —– —
Total 0 0 23 23 100
18. List all callsigns of all operators and number of QSO’s completed of the GOTA Station:
Submission file created by N3FJP’s ARRL Field Day Contest Log
Version 5.8
Here is a copy of the ADIF log file created by our N3FJP ARRL Field Day Log. An alphanumeric list of stations worked by band/mode during the Field Day period based on this document was submitted to the ARRL. The 12 contacts before 2200 UTC were from the County Office EOC Radio Station. The 9 contacts after 2200 UTC were made from the temporary portable station established in Rod’s, VE6XY’s, RV camper trailer with a “balcony antenna“ clamped to its roof access ladder.
START-OF-LOG: 3.0
CREATED-BY: N3FJP’s ARRL Field Day Contest Log 5.8
CONTEST: ARRL-FIELD-DAY
CALLSIGN: VA6RDC
LOCATION: RED DEER
ARRL-SECTION: AB
CATEGORY-STATION: FIXED
CATEGORY-TRANSMITTER: ONE
CATEGORY-POWER: LOW
CATEGORY-BAND: ALL
CATEGORY-MODE: MIXED
CATEGORY-TIME: 24-HOURS
…several lines repeating previous information snipped/sja…
QSO: 14275 PH 2018-06-23 1840 VA6RDC 1F AB N7KE 1A EWA
QSO: 14314 PH 2018-06-23 1848 VA6RDC 1F AB K7LED 6A WWA
QSO: 14264 PH 2018-06-23 1856 VA6RDC 1F AB VA7RER 2A BC
QSO: 14206 PH 2018-06-23 1906 VA6RDC 1F AB W7OTV 4A OR
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-23 1909 VA6RDC 1F AB NF6 1E SF
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-23 1919 VA6RDC 1F AB VE7SCC 3A BC
QSO: 144 PH 2018-06-23 1919 VA6RDC 1F AB VE6HPY 1D AB
QSO: 144 PH 2018-06-23 1920 VA6RDC 1F AB VA6PPZ 1D AB
QSO: 144 PH 2018-06-23 1921 VA6RDC 1F AB VE6SNL 1D AB
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-23 1940 VA6RDC 1F AB WL7CSJ 1F AK
QSO: 144 PH 2018-06-23 2114 VA6RDC 1F AB VA6TNA 1C AB
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-23 2126 VA6RDC 1F AB VE7CMR 3A BC
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-23 2132 VA6RDC 1F AB N7VSS 1A EB
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-23 2137 VA6RDC 1F AB W6YX 5F SCV
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-24 0004 VA6RDC 1F AB W3YA 1D EPA
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 0128 VA6RDC 1F AB W7OTV 3A OR
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-24 0351 VA6RDC 1F AB W6HA 3A LAX
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 0413 VA6RDC 1F AB AA7CR 2A ORG
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 0424 VA6RDC 1F AB AA7TW 1D ID
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 0639 VA6RDC 1F AB NH6JC 2A PAC
QSO: 14000 PH 2018-06-24 1526 VA6RDC 1F AB VE7SS 2A BC
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 1541 VA6RDC 1F AB K7A 2A WWA
QSO: 7000 PH 2018-06-24 1605 VA6RDC 1F AB K7LED 6A WWA
END-OF-LOG:
Same time next year?
John Allen, VA6SJA
2018 CAARC Field Day Chairman
Online petition about radio interference
Jun 11th
Online petition about radio interference
Deadline for signatures: October 4, 2018
Radio Amateurs in Quebec have told us of a petition involving a radio station that is “generating interference on purpose”.
While we have not had a chance to investigate the specific details of the incidents the petition refers to we agree with the importance of acting to support the security of high frequency communications.
Those interested in signing the petition can do so at the following website:
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1631
The petition will be closed for signatures on October 4, 2018 at 9:33 am.
Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director
BBQ Found
May 24th
Hi everyone, I’ve contacted Baker Hughes about a BBQ trailer, they have offered to donate this to the club. I’ve got it booked for June 15, 16, 17 018. Just as an FYI, they mentioned that they’ve been having trouble with the one half but said they’d most likely have the bugs worked out by the time we get it. Let’s cross our fingers and hope the whole thing works. 73 from VA6TNA
Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX Silent Key
Apr 15th
It is with sadness we announce the passing of Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX from Olds. Jack received his Amateur Radio license in June 2001 and had been very active on the bands ever since. Jack was very instrumental in helping many hams obtain their licenses and he made many friends on HF and VHF. Jack worked many stations around the world on various bands and was always listening and ready to engage everyone in a meaningful conversation. He will certainly be missed.
Jack’s funeral service will be held on Friday April 20th at 11:00 A.M. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3802 57 Ave. Olds.
The following is from a profile of Jack, written on the CAARC web site October 30, 2003.
I grew up on a farm southwest of Drumheller, Alberta, just south of the Horse Shoe Canyon. I came down with Diabetes Mellitus in 1947, which certainly changed my way of life.
My father took ill in 1950 and my work load at age eight got considerably heavier, with lots of chores to do. Dad then suffered a stroke in 1952 and work around the farm got a lot harder. I started driving truck and hauling grain when I was ten years old. Dad passed away in 1953 when I was eleven. I had a younger brother and two younger sisters.
I met my XYL in Calgary during 1960 and we went our separate ways until we married in 1965. We lived in Calgary, on 42nd Street SW, had two children, a boy and a girl. We subsequently moved to Olds, Alberta in 1969. We bought a shoe store in 1974 and sold it during the devastating inflationary early eighties. I presently work in Life Insurance and Mutual Funds as an independent broker.
Please click this link to read the complete profile of Jack.
Dov/4Z4DX announces special event stations
Dec 2nd
From Earl Rubin
4X, Israel:
Dov/4Z4DX announces that special event stations will be operating from several HOCOTA
locations between Dec. 22 and 24. QSOs will count towards a special award as well. QSL only by EQSL.CC and LOTW
4X2XMAS-Tabor mountain,
4X3XMAS-Caeserea,
4X4XMAS-Nazareth,
4X6XMAS-Arbel,
4X7XMAS-catholic church Beer Sheva,
4X9XMAS-Nitzana .and
4X0XMAS- Shivta
For more info please check QRZ.COM
